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Italian Words
Here is a simple glossary that you may find useful in understanding some Italian when watching the videos. The words listed here are those that in particular relate to Sarah & Veronica, phrases used in the Grande Fratello house and amongst the housemates. Please add any words you find necessary or relevant. A Note on Italian Dialects as explained by by sappivu & Livia on AE Here in Italy every region has it's own dialect and accent. I love all dialects and accents because they all have something special and Italy is beautiful also for this reason. The original Italian language is historically considered to be the one spoken in Florence but things have changed a lot since Dante Alighieri :) Southern dialects have had the influence of Greek, Spanish, French, Arabic... they have many words coming from those languages. Nothern dialects have had influences of French, German, East European languages... It's still very hard to describe it in plain words. What's important is to distinguish between accents and dialects: in America you have different accents but the language remains the same: in Italy there are regional dialects and they are sometimes very different, so much that for me it's hard to understand Sicilian dialect, even though Sicily is part of Southern Italy. It's a totally different language, with different syntax and words. For example, Sarah may talk in italian but still you hear her accent is from Naples. Or she can talk in Neapolitan dialect and I would understand nothing. Sarah has an heavy Neapolitan accent, and she has to work on it if she wants to do the movies. Although Sophia Loren is from Napoli (and her accent is still pretty strong), so you might recognize the same patterns. Actually, the Neapolitan dialect has the status of a language, since it has its own literature. In general, southern accents tend to close the vowels while nothern accents open them a lot. Veronica has a Roman accent, which is understood pretty much by everyone, and you hear it a lot on tv too. Mara also speaks Roman, so you have no problems understanding her. The Roman and Tuscany accents are those more understable by everyone. Also in Milan if they speak Italian you can understand them very well, but if they talk the Milanese Dialect you understand nothing. Carmen and Carmela both have a sicilian accent, but probably from two different cities. Carmen's accent is the one from Palermo, and it's really bad to hear. I don't know where Carmela is from, but a characteristic of her accent is that she opens all the vovwels when she talks. It's very funny, and even MDGF (Mai Dire Grande Fratello, the show after the Monday live show) makes fun of her for this reason. Massimo and Nicola are both from Bari, and they close all the vowels instead. However Massimo, can't even complete his sentences properly most times and therefore comes across as uneducated. Nowadays pretty much everyboody speaks standard Italian (except my grandparents), but with their own accent. The origins of an Italian speaker are easily trackable by his accent (but you have to be Italian or a very good Italian speaker to grasp it). A Abbraccio = Hug Allora = then, in that case Amo' (short for amore) = Luv (love) Amore = Love Anche = Also, even Aspetta = wait Assolutamente = Absolutely B Bacio = Kiss Basta = (That's) Enough! (Common Italian expression, used a little differently than in English) Bellissimo/a = Very beautiful Bello/a = Beautiful Bisessuale/bisex = Bisexual Buongiorno = Good morning C Cambio batteria = Change batteries. A phrase used by GF asking housemates to go to the laundry room to pick up new batteries for their microphones. Capito = Understand/Got it? Capodanno = New Year's Day : Veronica: "Tonight you are my New Year's Day!" : Sarah: "And you are mine!" : The dialogue between Sarah and Veronica before their kiss on New Year's Day. Casa = Home/house Certo = Yes/Certainly Che palle = an Italian expresssion meaning "what balls" or boring/annoying Ciao = Hello/Goodbye Coppia = Couple Con = With : E.g. "Vero siamo con te e il sogno" ("Vero we are with you and the dream"). The banner of the plane which flew over the house of Grande Fratello on 03/02/2009, a surprise for Veronica from the girls of Mari*'s channel on Youtube to show their support for her and 'il sogno'. Confessionale = Confession room. The housemates are called there many tmes, see why. Coniglietta = Bunny (fem). Often used in reference to Sarah, as she was the first playmate of the new Italian edition of Playboy. Cubista = Go-go or platform dancer. Often used in reference to Veronica, as this was her previous night job. Cucciola = Puppy (fem). A reference/nickname to Veronica. Cuore = Heart D Dai = Come on! (To say "stop it", or "do it") Dentro = Inside Dichiarazioni = statements, declararations Doccia = Shower Domani = Tomorrow Dopo = Later, after Diarrea = diarrhoea, used in Italian idiomatic expression "Ho la diarrea"/I suffer from diarrhoea, that stands for "Give me a kiss". Just kidding. E E = And E' = Is Ecco = Here. That's it. Eccomi = I'm here. F Figa = Attractive girl. (Caution using this word because it's also a vulgar term for pussy). Veronica & Sarah often sing: "Figa da paura (freaking) Sa'". Forza = Strength Fuori = Outside. As in the real world outside the Grande Fratello house. Often used in this context by the girls. It can also mean after the show is over, or the future of their realtionship. : = Out, as evicting someone from the house. E.g. "Mauro fuori!" = "Mauro out!" I Ieri = Yesterday Lite = quarrel Io = I/me G Gelosa = Jealous (fem.) Giorno = Day Grande Fratello = Big Brother. Also referred to as "Grande Fra", or "GF" Gattamorta = lit. Dead cat (fem). You can be one or act like one. It's a flirting genre. It's a subtle game of appealing men while rejecting them. If it's well done, there is nothing you can hold against her. L Lei = She Lesbica = Lesbian (noun/adverb). : E.g. When Veronica says: "Io non sono lesbica" = "I am not a lesbian". See Video & the Io Non Sono Lesbica fan blog. Letto = Bed Lite = Argument/Quarrel Loro = They/Them Lui = He M Mattina = Morning Meraviglioso (Meravijoso = neapolitan dialect) = Marvelous/Wonderful. E.g. How Sarah described her kiss with Veronica. N Notte = Night P Paura = Fear. Pasquale = A man's name (english equivalent could be Patrick). It is a negative nickname used around the house for Sarah. : The name is a variation of the term Pasqua (Easter) which is then connected to a bunny (an Easter bunny) which obviously leads to the Playboy bunny aka Sarah. : I suppose that's the reason of the nickname. Piace = Like. Mi piace = I like it. Ti piace = You like it. Ci piace = We like it. : Ci Piace is a phrase used (firstly by Maicol) a lot around the house, and become a kind of house expression. So much so that GF had shirts made for all the housemates with "Ci Piace" written on them, and gave it o them (via the laundry room) as gifts. Ci is pronounced like "chee". Pit = is the nickname for Massimo, as he looks like a Pitbull Patata = Potato, but used as a euphemism for "pussy". Perché = Why/Because Q Quindi = Then... (An Italian expression) R Ragazzi = Guys/Housemates. Raga is the short, colloquial form. Ragazze = Girls S Sà = Short for Sarah. Sometimes a nickname Veronica uses. Scherzare = To joke ("Sto scherzando" = I'm joking/I'm kidding) Sera = Evening Settimana = Week Siamo = (We) Are Sicuro/a = Sure/Certain (Vero asked Sarah before their first public kiss on capodanno) Sogno = Dream. It is the word Sarah & Veronica used to describe their relationship (and circumstance). Stasera = Tonight Sticazzi = What the fuck?! (cazzo=dick, cazzata=bullshit) T Trombare = Used as a euphemism for "to fuck" Tu = You Tutto = All/Everything U Un po' = A bit V Va bene = Okay. Sometimes shortened to just "va be". Vaffanculo = Go fuck yourself. Like everyone tells Mauro to do all the time. Ve = Short for Veronica. Sometimes a nickname Sarah uses. Veramente = Really Vero = True. Or a nickname for Veronica Vieni con me = Come with me Vieni qua/qui = Come here. Something Sarah often tells Veronica to do.